Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Walt Wednesday

Remember last month when I shared about Walt's vet nudging us to help him live a happier and healthier life? (If you don't, no worries, you can check that post out HERE.) I'm pleased to report that this past month has been a success.

When Walt pants I always think it looks like he's smiling... And why wouldn't he be?! Exercising is FUN!

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Still scarfin' down that venison!

Walt's already a pretty active wiener dog (he really loves to adventure with us - whether that consists of camping, hiking or even just a ride in the car), but there's always room for improvement.

In case you didn't know, we live in an upstairs condo unit. This means any time Walt needs to "handle his business" we need to take him for a walk. Normally that consists of a loop around our complex (which is about .3 miles long), but recently we've been trying to switch it up a bit - either by adding in a second loop, doing some weaving by the pool or heading out of the complex all together and venturing around the nearby neighborhood.

If you ever watch my Instagram stories, you've probably seen some of Walt's "antics". He loves the sunshine (he must get that from his mama), so he has no qualms about taking a rest mid-walk to lay down on the cement for a siesta...

He loves to walk down to our garage and just pop a squat... #Weirdo

When he gets in these "moods", it's hard to want to head out for extra walks because it can be a struggle simply to make it further than a few hundred feet. Let's just say the walks can be more of a frustration than anything, but we need to remind ourselves that it's the long-term benefit we're after. #EasierSaidThanDone #StubbornDachshund

The picture on the right looks like he is LITERALLY laughing at me...

Not only have we been trying to get the pup more exercise on our "standard" walks, but we're also trying to do some additional "wiener dog friendly" activities on the weekends. We haven't had a ton of extra time (we've been super busy lately, not sure what the deal is), but an extra hour of doggy park play here or a thirty minute hike there can add up!

Hikes, walks at the beach, trips to the dog park... every extra minute of movement counts!

I may not always have a chipper attitude when I'm "forcing" the pup to get extra steps in, but I know he will thank me for it later. And if that means we get a few extra years with this happy and healthy doggy, then it's WELLWORTH the effort!